I keep thinking of 2017 as The Year That Disappeared.
To be honest, though, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It was a year that mostly disappeared from the blog (18 posts in 365 days!), but some of it’s on Instagram.
On a personal level, the highs points of 2017 were pretty darn high:
- I stepped up into a new high-level role at work.
- Paul and I spent 12 amazing days in Italy. We appreciated Rome, we were delightfully surprised by Venice, and we utterly loved Florence. It was our first time there and we do not intend for it to be the last!
- We saw two Tony-Award-winning Best Musicals: The Book of Mormon in July, and Hamilton in October. One was the funniest musical I’ve ever seen (Spamalot has been bumped down to #2). The other was everything,
- No one in the family spent a holiday in the hospital.
So yes, there were highs. But highs are always offset by lows.
- I barely had a reading life, and most of that consisted of the news and current events. I’m paying for digital subscriptions to several newspapers and magazines now and I’m happy to do it. 2017 was a terribly eventful–eventful and pretty terrible–year. There’s always a sense of hope with the turn of the calendar, but 2018 might not get the memo that it’s supposed to do better right away. In any case, I think that trying to keep up is both essential and responsible.
- “Keeping up” has made it tough to make time and energy to read actual books, though. And when you’ve identified as “a reader” since the age of four, not reading really messes with your sense of self.
- (If it weren’t for audiobooks I’d have barely read at all in 2017. And sometimes I listened to less-demanding podcasts during my commute instead.)
- The blog went dormant. This is partly due to not reading much. It’s also because I didn’t have much time for writing, and when I did have the time I lacked the physical and mental energy.
- My book-review index will have a big gap where 2017 should be, and I’m not even going to berate myself for it. I may do short reviews of books that have stayed with me for one reason or another, but if I don’t I’ll accept it.
The Year That Disappeared…Into Work
That new high-level role at work was even more demanding than I anticipated. 2017 was as tumultuous a year for my organization as it was for the world in general. And as a nonprofit, our operations were also directly impacted by a lot of that external tumult and uncertainty.
I learned a lot as interim CFO, but much of the learning happened under intense pressure…and that is not where I do my best. After nine months, I asked to step back down from that role. Next week, I will be moving back to my old one–and my old office.
I objectively accept that I gave the job the best I could. I regretfully accept that I couldn’t perform at the level my organization needed from me. And I gratefully accept that I am able to move back into a niche where we all know I can do well.
And now you know why I chose my OneWord for 2018.
On to 2018! As I said on New Year’s Day, I’m not committing to a posting schedule or content right now. I’m just going to try to be here when I can, as much as I can. I hope you’ll be here too.
Happy New Year, Florinda!
And same to you, Kathy!
Happy New Year! A promotion, Hamilton and Florence? That’s a winning year! 2017 has been a tough one, though…happy to see it end and start anew.
I had two “invisible” years and shut down Alison’s Book Marks. It relieved my guilt of knowing it was sitting there neglected. I am happy that you’re going to jump back in – it’s hard to balance it all! Best of luck for a happy, productive 2018!
Good to see you, Alison! I definitely understand the guilt of blog neglect, especially after the past year, and there were times it was a relief not to think about doing this on top of everything else. That said, I did this for ten years and I knew I didn’t want to be done with it for good. I’m easing back into it with no obligations, and that helps.
Ah, I’m sorry, Florinda. I know you were so excited about your promotion. NFP accounting is a world all of its own as it is without the added pressure of change; I cannot imagine the changes and the stresses you have had to face professionally over the past year. I am glad you recognized that the role was not the right one for you and were able to step back into your old role. So many people would not have had the foresight or the ability to do so!
Good luck to you in 2018! I know it is going to be a good one!
Thanks–I knew if anyone would understand my decision it would be you, Michelle! I agree, I am very lucky I could step down and still have a place; then again, I’ve been at the agency almost 15 years and that experience has value :-). I will have to fill you in on the whole story at some point. Meanwhile, I am not doing any work this weekend and that feels GOOD :-)! xoxo
That certainly is an intense year! But, those highs were certainly awesome; I agree that Italy is wonderful, Book of Mormon is hysterical; and Hamilton is overall incredible. I hope 2018 is a better year for you stress-wise.
Thanks, Helen–me too! And I hope we get at least a couple of months that aren’t “fire season” :-).
Happy New Year, Florinda. Sounds like you made the best choice for you and the company. It’s hard to admit when you can’t fulfill an obligation like you want or expect to…I know how that is. I think you’ll have more reading time this year, so that might be good. 🙂 always look for the sun.
I am certainly hoping for more reading–and writing–time! Happy New Year, Serena.
You have had one heck of a year. Good for you to have the courage to step back down instead of struggling on unhappily. Glad that you were able to step back to something you know and love.
In truth, I wanted to be able to step down on my own terms, by my own choice. I’n just fortunate I was able to do that.